


two plus one

by usabuns



Category: DARLING In The FRANXX (Anime)
Genre: Adulthood, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Gambling, Light Angst, Pregnancy, References to Alcohol and Sex, Romance, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-14
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-10-28 00:34:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17777189
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/usabuns/pseuds/usabuns
Summary: Zero Two and Hiro try not to think about how many times they’ve failed to add another to their family.Until Lady Luck finally deals them the right cards.





	two plus one

**Author's Note:**

  * For [jianbird](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jianbird/gifts).



> A Valentine’s gift for my dear Michie~ Happy Valentine’s Day! Please go and check out her works for more quality Hirotwo content.

“Darling.”

Hiro’s deep blue eyes screwed upward from his lap at the sound of that silvery, dulcet tone. His wife was looking at him, her lips a downturned, slightly annoyed line. Usually her voice was so smooth, but right now Hiro could detect a wrinkle in that silk. 

“H-Huh?” stuttered Hiro, revealing his drifting mind. His gaze passed between Zero Two and the red and black cards fanned out in his hand. 

Zero Two blinked at him, her lips pursed. “It’s your turn, Darling. Hit or stay?” She took a quick peek at her own cards, her Poker face still immaculate on her features, and set them face down on the tabletop again. 

“O-Oh, right.” Hiro‘s gaze dropped down to his cards. The last few hands Zero Two had dealt him hadn’t been good; after a five round winning streak, it seemed like his luck was beginning to run dry. His eyes narrowed marginally, going over the possible moves in his head. 

Zero Two was a hard player to beat. Hiro had half a mind to think she’d destroyed the House at Vegas Blackjack tables more than once in her life, though she wouldn’t tell. She seemed like the type to be feared by casinos, however. 

One King of Spades and a Six of Hearts. What to do... Hiro tugged at his collar briefly, eyes darting between the red ‘6’ and the black ‘K’ in the corners of each card. Between a rock and a hard place... If he hits, there’s a chance he’ll bust, but sixteen was too small a number. After all, Zero Two was the dealer, and she was required to get at least seventeen before she could stay. 

“— _Darling_ ,” drawled Zero Two again, more firmly this time. Hiro snapped to attention, but after swallowing hard turned to his cards. Her thin eyebrows narrowed as her fingers pattered impatiently across the glossed, _bocote_ wood table. “Hurry it up, won’t you?” When Hiro looked back up at her—flustered—her lips were raised playfully into a smirk.

“I’m still thinking about it. I need another minute.” Shuffling his cards back and forth, a lump formed in his throat. He didn’t have many good options here. He eyed the rest of the deck fearfully, afraid of what the next card would be if he requested another. “Hmm...”

His wife just snorted. “Well, do you really need to think that hard?” Zero Two’s arm raised to move her sleek, blush pink hair behind her shoulders. She took a generous sip of her dark _Merlot_ and leaned back in her chair. “You either have it or you don’t...”

The rest of the dining room was still and silent as Hiro pressed on with his strategizing, save for the sharp clicking of Zero Two’s tongue and the deep ticking of the antique grandfather clock across from the long table. 

And after several long, pondering moments: “I’ll hit, Zero Two.” 

Across from him at the table, Zero Two slowly licked her lips in anticipation. Hiro fumbled with his two cards. She stuck two fingers out delicately and slipped the top card of the deck out, grabbing it deftly with her thumb. Zero Two turned it around, looking at it for herself and holding in a laugh before laying it face-up on the table—as if she already knew what number he had. 

“Six of Clubs,” she said, cackling through a cheeky grin. The six printed in a dark black had sealed Hiro’s fate, and he let out a disheartening breath. His cards were dropped over-dramatically onto the tabletop. A little pouty face formed on Hiro’s lips as he sunk lower into the plush velvet cushion of his chair. 

Zero Two stopped laughing to draw a breath, and finally spoke up again, “But do you know what I have, Darling?” Her slim fingertips grasped her two cards and flipped them over proudly. A Ten of Hearts and an Ace. “ _Twenty-one_.”

“Yeah, yeah,” came Hiro’s muttering, as Zero Two clutched her stomach. Though, he still had a tiny grin on his face. “You’re just a lucky duck, Zero Two.”

The clock chimed eleven o’clock in its low _ding-dongs_ , echoing all throughout the big, empty mansion. Empty and lonely, devoid of any sign of life at this hour. The crickets chirped outside. 

“It’s getting late.” Hiro stretched his arms over his head, humming with pleasure as his muscles relaxed. He stood up, wasting no time in pushing in his chair. “Let’s pack it up, and then we can—“

“—Sore loser,” Zero Two sneered, her voice with a melodic quality to it. “Yeah, Darling’s a sore loser.” She waggled her finger pointedly at him. “We shouldn’t be sleeping so soon anyways, we’re not old people.“ Nevertheless, Zero Two got up, leaving her seat ajar as she leaned over the table, lifting herself up on top of it and pressing her shins and palms against the top. 

When she was far enough, she reached out and pulled her husband down by his collar, reveling in the little yelping noise he made as she did so. “We could watch TV... Unless you want to do something _else_?” 

_Oh_. It wasn’t like Hiro hadn’t been planning on doing that anyway, just a lot later... 

“I-I-I meant that! That we should relax for a while before we sleep!” Zero Two lifted herself onto her knees—towering over Hiro—and reached one hand out, caressing his cheek. “But maybe we could—do what you said instead... I want to cuddle afterwards, though!” Hmm. Hiro averted his gaze, resting it on the heated marble floor. Although, he didn’t miss the way Zero Two lessened her grip and blinked at him, an uncharacteristically curious expression on her face. 

“Darling.” Hiro lifted his head up, looking into her seafoam eyes with his steel blue ones yet again. She paused for a moment before squishing his cheeks together between both of her palms. “Darling is a complete sap...” 

A moment passed where Hiro felt his face heat up, though he was sure he probably wasn’t blushing. It wasn’t that he was embarrassed—just that he was _happy_. “You— You’re just as bad sometimes, you know!” Zero Two squished his cheeks further, making a soft, bubbly laugh erupt from him. 

But eventually her hands dropped, too, falling back flat onto the tabletop as her posture slouched; she was now sitting with her thighs pressed on top of the backs of her shins. The pearl white, casual dress that Zero Two wore shimmered under the dim glow of the overhead chandelier, lighting her up as if she were a shining star in the sky. Her V-cut neckline plunged down tastefully, and the hem that ended mid-thigh showed off her smooth, toned legs and flawless skin. 

Well, it was ‘casual’ by Zero Two’s standards. Being a famous supermodel meant that she was always walking the runway at designer shows with the most glamorous attire, so staying at home for a few days meant she could wear her own ensembles for a change. This outfit definitely looked more comfortable than the extravagant dresses and pantsuits they put her in for red carpet appearances or talkshows, too. 

To say Hiro liked what she was wearing was an understatement. He never really understood fashion—that was obvious just by looking at the grey-blue t-shirt and olive green capris he was wearing—but this relatively simple dress Zero Two was currently donning was beautiful to him. It suited her perfectly, in his eyes. The way Zero Two was giggling loudly with him, her eyes squeezed shut happily and her sleek locks flying about, made her look all the more gorgeous. 

Hiro’s laughing died down slightly and he leaned upward on his tip-toes, slowly urging his face forward until their foreheads pressed together delicately. In that instant, Zero Two opened her eyes, vibrant irises locking with Hiro’s firm gaze. 

“Soooo?” spoke Zero Two, tapping her fingertips along Hiro’s shoulder. Her eyes followed the movement. 

“Well... The couch is right there?” He could never say no to her. She was too... _enticing_. Always. 

“Oh, Darling, are you saying what I think you’re saying?” He saw her bite her bottom lip. Zero Two closed her eyes briefly, expression going pensive for a moment, like something harsh was on her mind—Hiro would have commented on it had it not lasted for only a split second. Her wide smile returned just as she pushed herself off the edge of the table, straightening up. 

Even in just fuzzy house-slippers, she was easily three inches taller than him. Tall, slender, with just the right amount of curves... “—I’d like that,” she said, bringing Hiro back to the present conversation, her finger tracing his jawline and then going across his thin, pale lips. 

When Zero Two pulled her finger back, Hiro couldn’t help but be drawn in by the sight of her full, plump lips. They were naturally a very bright shade of pinkish-red, almost as bright as the eyeshadow she loved to use. Hiro leaned in, as if Zero Two had been beckoning, and kissed her fully, even bringing his hands up to cup her warm face closer. 

For her part, his wife kissed back just as eagerly, her soft lips seemingly engulfing him. She tasted sweet, like always—like honey and cream. That warm, fuzzy feeling of their lips making contact doused him in a flurry, full-force. It was like a drug. 

Eventually, though, drugs wear off. They both parted nearly at the same second, slowly pulling their lips away and opening their eyes just the same. Zero Two’s hair fell back into place, her slick bangs still pressed up against Hiro’s forehead. 

He let the moment take him, standing there with their heads touching and noses pressed together. “I love you, Zero Two.”

“And I love _you_ , Darling.”

* * *

Zero Two’s long, blush hair tumbled down once she sat up in bed, the side partings fallings down over her breasts and her bangs fluffing up due to bedhead. Her arms stretched slowly, slowly, above her head... A quiet, drawn-out moan had sprung loose as her muscles relaxed. 

The freshly wrinkled sheets parted around her ample hips and toned thighs like the Red Sea. 

What had started in the living room had gone to the kitchen, back to the sweat-covered leather couch, and then ended up in the master bedroom. _Several_ hours had passed before Hiro had gotten the cuddling he had long desired. 

Zero Two sniffed the air. 

Although the bedroom was huge by any standard, the ventilation felt poor this morning. The windows weren’t open, the double doors were firmly shut, and they hadn’t turned the air conditioning on in their haste to go to sleep the night previous. 

Oh well. 

It smelled a little musky, but it wasn’t unbearably hot or gross. Just a little bit uncomfortable and stuffy. She felt her skin prickle with heat, so she promptly shoved the blankets off of her, causing them to clump up at the foot of the mattress. 

To Zero Two’s side, Hiro stirred, letting out a short, loud snore at the sudden movement. But he didn’t wake. His black hair looked extraordinarily soft and fluffy, and Zero Two wanted nothing more than to reach out and _touch_ — 

“—But Darling looks too cute when he sleeps,” she finished aloud, whispering. For now, she wouldn’t bother him. His chest rose up and down evenly with each slow breath he took. 

Zero Two winked at her sleeping husband, even though she knew full well he could not see or react to it, and placed her feet onto the polished wood floor. They slipped into her fluffy, pink bunny slippers as she slowly, slowly got up, glistening in the nude—

—Then, as soon as she was standing straight up, her head spun. Her vision went blurry with spots of black showing up, making her dizzy. A yelp released from her as a sharp ache coursed through her brain. It was so strong that it pinned her back down to the bed, making the springs squeak from the force. 

Her palms instinctually went up to caress her head, rubbing at her temples as they throbbed rhythmically. The pained gasp that had let loose had understandably resounded throughout their bedroom, making Hiro groan. 

When she turned to look at him, a grimace on her face, his eyes flitted open. “...Zero Two?” A yawn came from him as he brought his hand up to move his messy bangs out of his face, thereafter sitting up on his angled arm. 

Her mouth opened into an ‘o’ shape as Zero Two quickly turned her head away. Her breath let out, and she hugged her arms close to her body. “Good morning, Darling,” she said, in a voice that was an attempt at her usual sensuality. She swallowed, but kept speaking. “I was thinking we should go out for breakfast today. What do you think?” 

Hiro laughed mildly as he sat up fully, making Zero Two mentally sigh in relief. She didn’t need him worrying about her. “Isn’t it a little too early to be thinking about things like that?” 

“Nonsense! It’s never too early to think about breakfast.” Despite the playfulness returning to her voice, a few vague pulses still went through her head. 

“Alright, alright.” Hiro shuffled beside her, shaking off the sheets. The sound of his two feet thumping down onto the floor made Zero Two snap back to look at him. 

Sooner or later, she’d have to get up again... 

He opened the blinds covering the glass French doors—which led to their little balcony—and all at once Zero Two’s eyes seared. The thumping in her head increased, and she snapped her gaze away again, burying her face in her hands. 

She heard him sigh as he stretched himself out. 

Shakily, Zero Two, with her eyes shut, mustered up enough strength to lift herself back onto her feet. Her bottom lifted up, then her knees straightened, and she was standing up again. 

She stumbled, teetering back and forth, threatening to lose her balance. What the hell? A surge like an electric shock went through her head, the back of her eye-sockets... Zero Two, the revered supermodel, who could walk on a thin runway blindfolded and with six-inch Stilettos on, now couldn’t even keep her balance on a solid floor in flat shoes. 

With her head pounding again, Zero Two groaned louder than she would’ve wanted, lurching her upper body forward to clutch her head in her hands. 

“—Z-Zero Two!”

The next she saw, Hiro was at her side, holding onto her lest she fall back into the bed, or worse, the hard floor. His arms had snaked firmly around her waist and shoulders. Their heights were now level, as Zero Two had leaned over significantly. 

Once she was steady, Hiro lifted one hand up to cup her cheek, urging her face slightly to meet his gaze. “Are you okay?! What happened?”

“It’s just...a little headache.” Now, there was a sweat drop or two slicked onto her forehead. She felt...woozy. “I’m perfectly—“

“—You’re not. Let me take care of you.”

“Darling...” she said softly, rubbing the back of her head. Zero Two left his grasp slowly, feeling the way her hips grew sore with every contraction of her muscles. Her heart started beating in her chest, then her throat. “I don’t know, suddenly I just...”

“You should go to the doctor’s,” Hiro reasoned, looking up into her eyes once she’d regained her posture. 

“No. It’s probably just from last night. I’ll take some medicine and sleep it off.” Zero Two waved her hand briskly, as if shooing him off. She stepped forward toward the bathroom connected to the master suite, but an ache went through her stomach, and ended back at the top of her head. 

Hiro, of course, reached out to hold her again. This time, he urged her back toward the bed by softly dragging her by the hand. But she didn’t so much as budge. “This isn’t normal! You shouldn’t be this worn-down over something so simple.” 

The movement of her head turning to face him was lethargic. With glazed eyes, Zero Two stared him down as he attempted to convince her to sit back down on the mattress. 

“Zero Two,” he said with an unusual sternness in his tone. Zero Two grit her teeth and turned herself all the way around, colorful dots painting her eyelids. _Ba-dump_. “It’s been like this for a while, hasn’t it?”

She was silent for a moment. “...It was never this bad.” In all honesty, at first her condition hadn’t concerned enough to draw Hiro’s attention to it, but in the past week it had started to trouble her. Usually, it was at her weariest and weakest—early in the morning and late at night after partying or fornicating—that the headaches or pain began. Or, sometimes, she’d feel the muscles in her abdomen clench up as if they were being held by a fist. 

“Please, Zero Two, tell me these things! You might not want to look out for yourself all the time, but _I_ do.” Hiro took her by the other arm as well and guided her toward the bed. His sharp look softened at the sight of her bashful expression, puffed-out cheeks and all. “You’re going to go see Ikuno today.”

“Darling—“ But Hiro moved out of her reach just before she could grasp onto his arm. Zero Two sighed, plopping back down into the bed stomach-up. “I didn’t want to worry you, that’s all...” she grumbled lowly, crossing her arms. 

“You can’t ever stop me from worrying about you.” Hiro was already on the other side of their bed, picking up his cellphone and choosing one of the contacts to dial. “It’s for your own good, Zero Two.” He clicked a button on the touchscreen, and held it up to his ear. 

Zero Two rolled her eyes when she knew he was looking down at her sprawled-out form. “Darling is still being a sore loser...”

* * *

“—I just haven’t been feeling good lately. I’m tired all the time for no reason.” Zero Two crossed her arms, teeth gritting in frustration. The heels of her boots tapped impatiently and spitefully on the tiled floor. “And I get these...headaches, sometimes.” She didn’t need this now. Wasn’t there already enough on her plate?

Ikuno hummed quietly and tapped on the sides of her violet-framed glasses. “So, constant fatigue, huh?” She scribbled onto her notepad with her pen. “Lethargy, headaches...” She scanned Zero Two up and down—currently she was looking rather tense and irritated in her chair.

Despite this, Zero Two nodded slowly. 

Ikuno looked back up at her sharply. “Listen, do your breasts feel tender?”

Zero Two blinked. She squinted. “My _breasts_? What the hell does—“

“—Are they? Have they been feeling heavy or sensitive lately?” 

Another blink. She thought about this carefully. Come to think of it, she would come out of the shower in the morning and often thought her breasts looked more bloated and fuller than usual in the mirror. But she’d just chalked it up to her imagination before. “Yeah, so? My period is next week anyway, so it’s normal for—“

“—How often do you two have sex?”

Zero Two rolled her eyes. Damn, what was with the interrupting today? It made her slightly nervous that Ikuno was bombarding her with one question after the next—was something wrong with her? Her stomach was just slightly twisting. She’d had her fair share of hospital visits and doctor’s appointments and health scares in the past, but as an adult she had the proper control and medication over them. Something about this appointment...didn’t feel right. 

She was about to retort with something along the lines of “That’s none of your business” when she spotted the deadpan, serious look on Ikuno’s face. Zero Two swallowed, her throat going tight. 

“...Almost every night,” came Zero Two’s answer after a brief moment, but it was said mostly with a sense of pride rather than embarrassment or bashfulness. In fact, there wasn’t even a hint of a blush on her cheeks, just a simple, honest expression with an equally truthful tone. 

It was just a fact that her and Hiro were sexually active, something that Ikuno probably could’ve guessed being that she was their doctor as well as one of their long-time friends. 

“Zero Two,” Ikuno sighed, clacking her clipboard down on top of the wooden desktop. Although, as she adjusted her glasses, a small twinge of a soft smile spread upon her lips. “Actually, I don’t want to make any assumptions too soon... Let’s take a urine sample first.”

“Huh?” Again, Zero Two blinked in confusion. One slender eyebrow rose high on her forehead. “What the hell is all this about, Ikuno?”

“Nothing bad, nothing bad... At least, I’m reasonably sure it’s only good news.” Ikuno tightened her lab-coat, making only the turtleneck of her deep purple sweater underneath visible, and gave Zero Two a knowing look. “Follow me, it won’t take too long. We can give you the results before you go.”

* * *

The test had been easy enough. All she had to do was overload on water and then pee into a cup, which they’d hung between the toilet seat and bowl. 

The hard part was waiting around in the exam room, silence all around her. Each time Zero Two would hear footsteps approaching, her heart would race as she wondered if they would stop at her door. 

_No, Ikuno’s are light and purposeful,_ she’d tell herself each time, shaking her head. The anxiety made her throat go salty like the sea and dry to the bone. 

Zero Two hugged her arms across her bosom tightly as she stared at a singular tile on the floor. She concentrated, hard, on memorizing the bland pattern in the square. More footsteps kept passing the door in the hallway, getting louder and then progressively quieter until they were silent in the distant. 

What if there was something wrong with her again?

What would Darling do if—

—No. She mustn’t think those kinds of thoughts. Her arms unfolded, leaving her hands to fall to her lap wearily. Zero Two’s fingers twitched as she began to twiddle them. In that moment, she wished she would’ve thought to bring Hiro with her. 

Zero Two, the famous supermodel, who never showed a hint of anxiety at her Fashion Week appearances in Milan, was now afraid of the doctor’s office (for the second time in her life). 

As a child, she had been fragile. Her immune system had been weak. She could remember quite horribly the countless times she’d been in with sicknesses, when they’d take so much blood from her for testing that she felt like she’d pass out each time. Her arms would get bruised from needles and she dreaded just thinking about stepping foot back inside that sterile, blank building. The medicines they gave her for strengthening her immunity tasted like vomit. It’d been three years of hell—hell where she didn’t even feel like a normal person. 

The adult Zero Two...wasn’t nearly as delicate anymore. Years of hospital visits had given her a cruel sense of humor coupled with the confidence to stand above all her troubles and conquer them like a Roman emperor. 

Zero Two, beloved wife, wouldn’t let fear win out again. 

Clenching her fists, she folded her hands into a ball and sat up straighter. There was nothing to worry about, right? As a familiar smirk seeped onto her lips, the color gradually washed back into Zero Two’s face. 

Then, she felt the vibration of footsteps. Steady, delicate, but with a clear purpose. 

Zero Two briefly winced, but steeled herself shortly thereafter. 

There was a knock at her door. 

Zero Two held her breath, released it, then said, “Come in.” 

“Zero Two.” Ikuno walked in quietly, eyes trained downward on the papers she was currently reading. Once she was fully inside he exam room, she clicked the door closed behind her. Looking up, Ikuno cleared her throat. “Looking at the results, everything is normal. There’s just one thing out of the ordinary, but I have a feeling you won’t mind too much...”

“Oh? Is it stage three cancer instead of four?” She was painfully aware of how grim the joke was, but it was often the only thing she could do to lighten her mood. Silently, Zero Two swallowed, her exterior still that of 

Ikuno, after rolling her eyes playfully, flipped one of the stapled pages backward. “When we do urine tests, we can see which hormones in the body are elevated. We can do the same thing with blood tests, but, ah, given your aversion to needles...a urine sample was enough to suffice for the diagnosis I had in mind already.”

For once, she didn’t give a snarky remark. Her eyes stayed glued onto Ikuno’s face. 

“The human chorionic gonadotropin hormone, or HCG, is what was increased today.”

There was silence for a moment. Zero Two stared, waiting for her to go on. “And?” she asked, ignoring the swirling of her brain. 

“I don’t know if you know this,” started Ikuno, smiling just a bit, “but HCG is a hormone that’s only released during pregnancy.” Her smile got bigger as Zero Two’s world stopped. “Congratulations,” she said softly, with a certain sweetness to her tone that Zero Two had never heard in it before. 

“Huh?” Zero Two really couldn’t help but laugh—so she did. “You’ve got to be joking. It’s never worked before.”

“The paperwork is right here. Lab tests don’t lie. Plus, it lines up with all your symptoms.” Ikuno held out the file folder, as if expecting Zero Two to snatch it out of her grip to read it for herself. 

But she didn’t. 

Well...not immediately. Once the shock passed, she took it quickly from Ikuno’s extended grip. Indeed, there was the section on one of the graphs that showed high HCG levels in her urine. Blood results would likely show the same thing. 

“B-But we...we’ve been barren for long...” Suddenly, her hands began to shake so much that she nearly dropped the papers in a heap. Zero Two stood up, staring blankly into space. It must’ve been almost half a year of her and Hiro trying, with no results, until they’d accepted the fact and settled with having sex unprotected whenever they were in the mood. 

Never in a million years would she have...

“I...” With her legs almost giving out, Ikuno rushed over to pull Zero Two into a tight hug. Wispy strands of her braided, purple locks tickled Zero Two’s cheek. She continued staring wide-eyed as the papers finally dropped from her loose grip. “I’m... _pregnant_.” This was the new fact she had to accept. 

“I know how badly you’ve wanted this, Zero Two.” Ikuno only embraced her tighter, giggling lightly. “You deserve it. You’re gonna be a great mom.” 

Nuzzled warmly into Ikuno’s shoulder, Zero Two snapped out of her daze and cried out, a stream of glimmering tears welling in her eyes and dropping rhythmically with each of her hoked sobs. Eventually, her shaking hand snaked outward and grasped Ikuno back tightly. 

“Th-Thank you,” she mewled through her crying, shaking her head as she breathed her. “Thank you...”

* * *

It was Poker this time. 

Three weeks straight of Blackjack had to have gotten boring at some point, anyway. 

Well, _Hiro_ had gotten tired of losing, and Zero Two had decided to indulge him tonight since...

Since there was that precious news to tell him.

All throughout dinner, Zero Two had been shamelessly grinning like a madman, eyeing Hiro fondly from across the table. He had even questioned why she hadn’t poured herself a glass of Vodka tonight. She had seen him blush a couple times, and it made her giggle—especially when he simply averted his gaze instead of saying anything. 

Currently, she could hardly hold her cards still, a break in her usually calm gambling composure. Zero Two did in fact catch Hiro staring in almost disbelief each time her giddiness nearly made her drop her cards all over the table. 

Oh, it had to be suspicious by now. Even if she was playing off her broad smile for a haughty smirk as she awaited Hiro’s next move. 

The room went quiet. The only sound was of Hiro shuffling his cards in his hand. “I’ll take...” He stopped himself for a second. “...Two.” Hiro placed two cards down flat, sliding them over to the discard pile. Zero Two stared at them curiously and offered up two new ones from the deck. 

Hiro scrutinized the new cards for a long time. The situation seemed dire for him. “Hmm...” There was no point in him prolonging his inevitable loss at this round. A sigh came from him as he laid down three of his cards, then placed two cards face up. 

“Just a pair of eights, Darling?” Now, Zero Two was hiding her lips behind her fanned cards. The eight red hearts and eight red diamonds seemed to burn brightly against the dark of the tabletop and the pure white card. A laugh seeped out. Her cards shifted. 

“Do you feel alright, Zero Two?”

Silence was her only response. 

Zero Two stood up calmly and sauntered over to his side of the expansive table, pulling up a seat next to him. 

“Listen to me for a minute, Darling.” Zero Two grabbed his face into her palms looking at all of his features. A spout of worry appeared on her face, and suddenly her heart began to thump—what if he didn’t want this? “ _H-Hiro_...” 

There was a soft gasp from him. She never called him that—and it showed on Hiro’s face. Eyes were wide, and his cheeks shaded darker. 

“You’ve been acting weird since the doctor today...” Hiro put his palm on her bare shoulder. Zero Two stared at his hand with wide eyes. “I just worry about you, Zero Two. What did Ikuno say about—“

“—Oh, Darling!” She pulled him in and wrapped her arms firmly around his neck. After a split-second of surprise, Hiro let his own arms fall in place around her waist. “I didn’t mean to make you so worried, it’s really such wonderful news!”

“Wonderful?” Hiro’s frown quickly upturned into his trademark soft, delicate grin that Zero Two loved so much. She hoped their child would inherit that very same smile. “Well what is it, Zero Two? You can’t just keep me on the edge of my seat like this.”

“Darling, I—“ She stopped herself, swiftly shaking her head and letting an even bigger smile form on her face. “ _We’re_ —“ she blushed warmly from just saying that “—going to have a cute little baby together!”

Zero Two brought Hiro’s palm down to her stomach, letting it rest there. Hiro blinked. “A...what?” His eyes drifted down to where his hand was, lingering on it. 

“Isn’t it amazing, Darling? You’re gonna be a dad! And I’ll be a mom! Just like we both always wanted!” Zero Two couldn’t help but giggle bubbly, sounding as if she were drunk. The laughing went on for quite some while as she hugged Hiro close, letting small, fresh tears roll down her cheeks. 

Clearly fazed, Hiro simply stared into his wife’s eyes, his nose brushing against hers and their lips centimeters away from touching. His steely blue irises seemed to be glistening a bit, as if doused in water. “R-Really? You’re serious...?”

Zero Two placed her hand on top of his knuckles warmly. “Of course I am!” Another giggle—she really couldn’t contain herself any longer. “A baby! Can you imagine, Darling!”

Eventually, reality seemed to take hold of Hiro. His eyes, too, truly began to water, and no sooner had Zero Two finished her sentence than happy teardrops began to roll down his face. “Z-Zero Two! Oh, I love you!” A myriad of laughter flowed out from his lips as well, accompanying Zero Two’s like a chorus. He rubbed his palm in a circle along her stomach. “And our baby, too! With all my heart!”

His words made a fuzzy feeling crop up in Zero Two’s chest. It was similar to love, but something a little different. It filled her with a particular kind of warmth that made her giddy. “I love you too, Darling! Always and forever, you know!”

And with that, Zero Two pushed herself forward into his lips, their salty tears mixing together through the sweetness of their kiss.


End file.
